Arrangement for the gas-tight fixing of an inlet manifold with a connector flange to the cylinder head of an internal combustion engine

ABSTRACT

Arrangement for the gas-tight fixing of an inlet manifold ( 1 ) with a connector flange to the cylinder head ( 2 ) of an internal combustion engine, with a sealing plate ( 3 ), arranged between the connector flange of the inlet manifold ( 1 ) and the cylinder head ( 2 ), in which at least one air passage ( 4, 5, 6, 7 ) for the at least one inlet tube of the inlet manifold ( 1 ) is embodied, with first connecting means ( 9 ) for connecting the sealing plate ( 3 ) to the inlet manifold ( 1 ), which are arranged in housings ( 10 ), in or on the sealing plate ( 3 ), with second connecting means for connecting the connector flange ( 1 ) and/or the sealing plate ( 3 ) to the cylinder head ( 2 ). A first sealing means ( 19 ) is provided on the sealing plate ( 3 ) on the one side ( 18 ) thereof, surrounding the at least one air passage ( 4, 5, 6, 7 ), for fitting to the inlet manifold ( 1 ), whereby at least one elastic element ( 13 ) is provided between the first connecting means ( 9 ) and the sealing plate ( 3 ).

[0001] The present invention relates to a system for the gas-tightmounting of an intake manifold having a connector flange on the cylinderhead of an internal combustion engine.

[0002] A system for the gas-tight mounting of an intake manifold havinga connector flange on the cylinder head of an internal combustion engineis known from EP 0 601 285 B1. This system has a gasket made ofelastomer material which can be attached to the side of the intakemanifold flange facing the cylinder head. The known gasket hasadditionally at least two sealing surfaces which merge into one pieceand which, during usage for the intended purpose, hermetically encloseat least two intake pipes of the intake manifold around the perimeter.However, the known system has the disadvantage that undesirablevibrations of the cylinder head of an internal combustion engine aretransferred to the intake manifold.

[0003] The object of the present invention is to provide a system forthe gas-tight mounting of an intake manifold on a cylinder head in whichthe transfer of vibrations between the engine and the intake pipe isreduced.

[0004] The object is achieved via a system for the gas-tight mounting ofan intake manifold having a connector flange on the cylinder head of aninternal combustion engine, including a sealing plate which is situatedbetween the connector flange of the intake manifold and the cylinderhead and which has at least one air passage for the at least one intakepipe of the intake manifold, including first connecting means, which aresituated in sockets formed in or on the sealing plate, for connectingthe sealing plate to the intake manifold and second connecting means forconnecting the connector flange and/or the sealing plate to the cylinderhead, first sealing means being provided on one side of the sealingplate around the at least one air passage for attachment to the intakemanifold, at least one elastic element being provided which acts betweenthe first connecting means and the sealing plate, the first sealingmeans being designed as sealing ribs which have a sealing section and amoving section, and the first connecting means including the at leastone elastic element and the first sealing means including the sealingsection and the moving section being designed and situated in such a waythat a vibratory relative movement is made possible between the sealingplate and the intake manifold.

[0005] Due to the design according to the present invention, it ispossible to substantially reduce the transfer of vibrations between twocomponents, in this case the cylinder head of an internal combustionengine and the intake manifold. Due to the present invention, it is inparticular possible to decouple the vibrations to a large extent andstill achieve a good seal between the intake manifold and the cylinderhead. This is achieved according to the present invention in particularby designing the first sealing means as sealing ribs having a sealingsection and a moving section and by placing the first connecting meanson the sealing plate using elastic elements.

[0006] Furthermore, according to the present invention the sealing plateis situated at a distance from the connector flange of the intakemanifold. This design makes it possible to achieve good decoupling ofthe vibrations between the cylinder head and the intake pipe.

[0007] Despite the vibratory relative movement between the sealing plateand the intake manifold, a particularly good seal is achieved in thatthe sealing ribs are stressed by compression means which are situated onthe intake manifold. These compression means, acting on the sealingsection of the sealing ribs, make it possible to achieve an excellentseal.

[0008] A further improvement is achieved in that, in the installedstate, the moving section is essentially stress-free or is stressed to alesser extent than the sealing section which is stressed by thecompression means. Improved vibration insulation or vibration decouplingis achieved, without jeopardizing the sealing effect of the systemaccording to the present invention, due to the fact that the movingsection is essentially stress-free or stressed only to a lesser extent.

[0009] Furthermore, the compression means advantageously stress thesealing section in one direction, i.e., essentially parallel to thesealing plate. This not only makes a good seal possible, but alsoprovides particularly good vibration insulation.

[0010] Furthermore, according to the present invention the compressionmeans are grooves, situated on the mounting flange of the intakemanifold, which accommodate the sealing section of the first sealingmeans.

[0011] A particularly good seal is achieved in that the sealing ribshave projections which, in particular, run in one direction, i.e.,essentially parallel to the sealing plate.

[0012] Furthermore, according to the present invention the movingsection is advantageously situated between the sealing section and thesealing plate.

[0013] According to a particularly advantageous embodiment of thepresent invention the first connecting means has a head which rests on asupport section of the socket via the elastic element. The elasticelement, acting between the socket and the connecting means, reduces thevibration transfer from the sealing plate to the intake manifold.

[0014] According to a refinement of the present invention, the supportsection is situated on a plane which is offset toward the intakemanifold parallel to the sealing plate. In particular, the head of thefirst connecting means is countersunk and a flat design of the systemaccording to the present invention is thereby achieved.

[0015] Furthermore, according to the present invention the sockets haverecesses for the first connecting means, the first connecting meansextending through them.

[0016] Particularly good vibration decoupling in different directions isachieved by routing the first connecting means in the first recessthrough the elastic elements.

[0017] A particularly good seal is also achieved by providing secondsealing means on another side of the sealing plate for attachment to thecylinder head.

[0018] Furthermore, it has proved to be of value for the sealing plateto have passages for the second connecting means.

[0019] An advantageous embodiment of a system according to the presentinvention is explained in greater detail in the following based upon thedrawing.

[0020]FIG. 1 shows a top view of a sealing plate according to thepresent invention;

[0021]FIG. 2 shows a section through the sealing plate illustrated inFIG. 1 along line C-C in the installed state;

[0022]FIG. 3 shows a section through the sealing plate illustrated inFIG. 1 along line A-A;

[0023]FIG. 4 shows a section through the sealing plate illustrated inFIG. 1 along line B-B;

[0024]FIG. 5 shows a section through the sealing plate illustrated inFIG. 1 along line C-C;

[0025]FIG. 6 shows a section through the sealing plate illustrated inFIG. 1 along line D-D, and

[0026]FIG. 7 shows an enlarged illustration of a detail from FIG. 3.

[0027] A system for the gas-tight mounting of an intake manifold 1having a connector flange on cylinder head 2 of an internal combustionengine is illustrated in the figures. The system according to thepresent invention has a sealing plate 3 which may be situated betweenthe connector flange of intake manifold 1 and cylinder head 2. Whilesealing plate 3 is illustrated individually in FIGS. 1 and 3 through 7,the detailed illustration of sealing plate 3 in FIG. 2 shows it in itsassembled state in which it is situated between intake manifold 1 andcylinder head 2 of an internal combustion engine 2. In the embodimentillustrated in FIG. 1, sealing plate 3 has four air passages 4, 5, 6, 7for the four intake pipes of intake manifold 1.

[0028] First connecting means 9 are provided for connecting sealingplate 3 to intake manifold 1, the connecting means being situated in asocket 10 formed in sealing plate 3. In the embodiment illustrated inFIG. 2, the first connecting means are designed as a bolt having anextended head 11 on its side facing cylinder head 2 and having a widenedsection 12 at its end facing connector flange 1. Other suitableconnecting means, screws having a thread, for example, may also be usedinstead of bolt 9 shown in FIG. 2. These screws may either be screweddirectly into the connector flange, or, together with a nut, form aconnection between sealing plate 3 and connector flange 1.

[0029] An elastic element 13 for first connecting means 9 is provided inthe area of socket 10. Elastic element 13 is situated between firstconnecting means 9 and sealing plate 3 in such a way that an elasticallyresilient connection is created between sealing plate 3 and connectorflange 1. For this purpose, head 11 of connecting means 9 rests onelastic element 13 which is situated on the bottom of socket 10.

[0030] Socket 10 has a cylindrical section 14 which is situated on theside of sealing plate 3 facing intake manifold 1. This cylindricalsection 14 is delimited by a support section 15 at its end facing intakemanifold 1; head 11 of first connecting means 9 may rest on the supportsection. Support section 15 is situated on a plane which is offsettoward intake manifold 1 parallel to sealing plate 3. This results inhead 11 of first connecting means 9 being countersunk. Furthermore,socket 10 has recesses 16, through which first connecting means 9extend. Guide section 7 of elastic elements 13 extends in the area ofrecesses 16 in such a way that first connecting means 9 are guidedthrough elastic elements 13 in recess 16.

[0031] Overall, sealing plate 3, made of metal, shown in FIG. 1 hasthree sockets 10, each having one recess 16, sockets 10 each beingsituated between air passages 4, 5 or 5, 6 or 6, 7, respectively.

[0032] On its one side 18 around air passages 5, 6, 7, 8, sealing plate3 has sealing means 19 intended to rest on intake manifold 1. Firstsealing means 19 each extend around an air passage 5, 6, 7, 8 in aclosed line. First sealing means 19 are designed as sealing ribs whichhave a sealing section 20 and a moving section 21. According to thepresent invention, the sealing ribs are made of an elastomer which isattached to sealing plate 3 by vulcanization. For achieving a good seal,sealing ribs 19 are stressed by compression means 22 situated on intakemanifold 1. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, compression means 22 aredesigned as grooves which are formed in the connector flange of intakemanifold 1 and which accommodate sealing sections 20 of first sealingmeans 19. Compression of sealing sections 20 via grooves 22 is achievedby grooves 22 having an inside dimension which is slightly smaller thanthe outside dimension of the sealing ribs prior to insertion into groove22. In this embodiment, sealing sections 20 are stressed by compressionmeans 22 in one direction, i.e., essentially parallel to sealing plate3.

[0033] Moving section 21 is situated between sealing section 20 andsealing plate 3. In the installed state, moving section 21 isessentially stress-free or is stressed to a lesser extent than sealingsection 21 stressed by compression means 22.

[0034] For achieving a better seal, sealing means 19 have projections 23which run in one direction, i.e., essentially parallel to sealing plate3 and extend in particular along the entire periphery of first sealingmeans 19.

[0035] As can be seen in FIG. 2, sealing plate 3 is situated at adistance from the connector flange of intake manifold 1. Firstconnecting means 9, sockets 10 for first connecting means 9 includingelastic element 13, and first sealing means 19 are designed and situatedin such way that a vibratory relative movement is made possible betweensealing plate 3 and intake manifold 1. Decoupling of vibrations betweencylinder head 2 of an internal combustion engine and intake manifold 1may be achieved or improved due to this vibratory relative movement.

[0036] To achieve a good seal between sealing plate 3 and cylinder head2, sealing plate 3 has, on its other side 24, second sealing means 25intended to rest on cylinder head 2. Second sealing means 25 are made ofan elastomer which is attached to sealing plate 3 by vulcanization.Second sealing means 25 each extend around an air passage 4, 5, 6, 7 ina closed line.

[0037] Furthermore, sealing plate 3 has passages 26 for secondconnecting means with which the connector flange of intake manifold 1 orsealing plate 3 may be directly connected to cylinder head 2. A total ofeight passages 26 are provided in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for the gas-tight mounting of an intakemanifold (1), having a connecting flange, on the cylinder head (2) of aninternal combustion engine, including a gasket sheet (3) which issituated between the connector flange of the intake manifold (1) and thecylinder head (2) and which has at least one air passage (4, 5, 6, 7)for the at least one intake pipe of the intake manifold (1), havingfirst connecting means (9) for connecting the sealing plate (3) to theintake manifold (1) which are situated in sockets (10) in or on thesealing plate (3), having second connecting means for connecting theconnector flange (1) and/or the sealing plate (3) to the cylinder head(2), first sealing means (19) being provided on one side (18) of thesealing plate (3) around the at least one air passage (4, 5, 6, 7)intended to rest on the intake manifold (1), at least one elasticelement (13) being provided which acts between the first connectingmeans (9) and the sealing plate (3), the first sealing means (19) beingdesigned as sealing ribs which have a sealing section (20) and a movingsection (22), and the first connecting means (9) including the at leastone elastic element (13) and the first sealing means (19) being designedand situated in such a way that a vibratory relative movement is madepossible between the sealing plate (3) and the intake manifold (1). 2.The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the sealing plate (3) issituated at a distance from the connector flange of the intake manifold(1).
 3. The system as recited in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the sealingribs (19) are stressed by compression means (22) which are situated onthe intake manifold (1).
 4. The system as recited in claim 3, wherein,in the installed state, the moving section (21) is essentiallystress-free or is stressed to a lesser extent than the sealing section(20) which is stressed by the compression means (22).
 5. The system asrecited in claim 3 or claim 4, wherein the compression means (22) stressthe sealing section (20) in one direction, i.e., essentially parallel tothe sealing plate (3).
 6. The system as recited in one of claims 3through 5, wherein the compression means (22) are grooves, formed on themounting flange of the intake manifold (1), which accommodate thesealing section (20) of the first sealing means (19).
 7. The system asrecited in one of claims 1 through 6, wherein projections are situatedon the sealing ribs (19) which, in particular, run in one direction,i.e., essentially parallel to the sealing plate (3).
 8. The system asrecited in one of claims 1 through 7, wherein the moving section (21) issituated between the sealing section (20) and the sealing plate (3). 9.The system as recited in one of claims 1 through 8, wherein the firstconnecting means (9) each have a head (11) which rests on a supportsection (15) of the socket (10) using the elastic element (13).
 10. Thesystem as recited in claim 9, wherein the support section (15) issituated on a level which is offset toward the intake manifold (1)parallel to the sealing plate (3).
 11. The system as recited in one ofclaims 1 through 10, wherein the sockets (10) have recesses (16) for thefirst connecting means (9), the first connecting means (9) extendingthrough the recesses.
 12. The system as recited in claim 11, wherein thefirst connecting means (9) are routed through the elastic elements (13)in the recesses (16).
 13. The system as recited in one of claims 1through 12, wherein second sealing means (25) intended to rest on thecylinder head (2) are provided on another side (24) of the sealing plate(3).
 14. The system as recited in one of claims 1 through 13, whereinthe sealing plate (3) has passages (26) for the second connecting means.